Peanut Free, Tree Nut Free Homemade MINT Chocolate Ice Cream!
When I showed my little guy our brand new Cuisinart Ice Cream Maker at the beginning of June this past summer, he was PRETTY excited. (And who am I kidding, so was I!) I left it in the box to really let him be part of the "opening it up" process, so right away he noticed the GREEN ONE on the box. I don't even remember if I really got a look at it but I have been assuming it was Mint Chip. We manage a pistachio allergy so even if it was pistachio, I figured we'll go with mint.
We stuck with the basics at first - Vanilla, Vanilla Chip, Chocolate Cookie, Cookie Dough.. but I finally had to get on figuring out what I was to do with The Green One. The recipes in the Cuisinart book are great, but the Mint one in particular calls for egg (7 large egg yolks actually), and we also manage an egg allergy in our house. I don't know about substituting 7 eggs, so I wasn't too keen on even attempting that version of the recipe.
After asking around in one of my food allergy support groups on Facebook, mint extract seemed to be the way to go. Most people were suggesting peppermint extract, which I do use in our Peppermint Cookie Fudge. The intended flavor of this Fudge is peppermint, so I think it works great. But I don't really feel peppermint is what you typically taste in mint chip ice cream, hence the decision to go with just mint extract. I thought balancing it with some vanilla extract would help soften the mint too.
So the end result is Cuisinart's Simple Vanilla Ice Cream recipe, with the extracts modified. See below for ingredients and instructions - we all really loved this flavor!!
HOMEMADE PEANUT FREE & TREE NUT FREE MINT ICE CREAM
Ingredients:
- 1 1/2 cups whole milk
- 1 cup plus 2 tbs granulated sugar
- pinch of kosher salt
- 3 cups heavy cream
- 1 1/2 tsp mint extract
- 1/2 tsp vanilla extract
Directions:
-
In a medium bowl, use a hand mixer on low speed or whisk to combine the milk, sugar and salt until the sugar is dissolved. Stir in the heavy cream and extracts. Cover and refrigerate at least 2 hours, or overnight.
- In our Cuisinart we let this churn for 20-25 minutes. We always freeze for at least a couple of more hours immediately after because we prefer a harder consistency for ice cream.
Notes:
- We wanted this to have some chocolate in it, so gave it a try with Sweet Megan's Bakery Chocolate Cookie Dough. The result was AMAZING! Highly recommend this edible (and allergy-friendly) cookie dough. It's the second flavor we've tried from this brand. I let the dough defrost from the fridge for about an hour, make it into little balls using a 1/4 tsp measuring spoon, and add them into the finished ice cream in a separate bowl after the churning is complete. Mix it up with a spatula, and THEN freeze for a few hours.
- This recipe is also sesame free. All ingredients used have been vetted for safety regarding food allergies that falls within our family's comfort level. Always check ingredients to ensure they meet your personal criteria.
- We have no affiliation with Cuisinart or Sweet Megan's Bakery. This is not a paid advertisement for either brand. Just a food-allergy family who enjoys these products and doesn't mind sharing!